Welcome Home.

Sorry for the skipped post.  Yesterday turned out to be a busy and exhausting one.  Jane and I treated ourselves to sleeping in and going to bed early with no blogging.

The Kuala Lumpur airport was like every other, but also fairly easy to navigate.  Large and modern, there were many choices for eating and shopping.  Again we failed to find breakfast we could stomach so we stopped in an airline lounge instead.  I have never been more relieved for a club soda with lime and a veggie omelette.

This dim sum restaurant was doing a massive breakfast business.  We just stared and repeated the word “nope” to each other.

Nothing here looked appealing. 

The quick grab options all had turnoffs. 

Room temperature lunch meat was a no. 

Yowza, at any time of day. 

Our credit card allowed us entry into our pick of 5 lounges. We picked this swanky joint. 

We were pretty dang hungry at this point. 

While the airport functioned like all other airports, I felt like something just felt foreign. It finally hit me that it’s the destinations on the signs and in the announcements.  We weren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto.  Many of the places I’d never heard of. 

After an effortless flight to Singapore, we sailed through the 10 second immigration process, picked up our luggage at the Conrad hotel, and headed for the Hilton.  They gave us a swank upgrade to a suite with a park view.  Thanks Hilton! 

A word from our sponsor, Hilton Hotels. I am in a committed relationship with Hilton, but it seemed boring to choose them repeatedly in Asia. I was wrong, sorry Hilton.  If I had it all to do over again, I’d choose these same Conrad’s and Hiltons. 

At the hotel, we emptied all of Jane’s things onto the floor and replaced entirely.  Identifying what she was missing, we headed out to shop on Orchard Road, a famous shopping district just outside our door.  At first blush, all of this is luxury goods that we’d never buy.  Turns out that street front business windows are the highest end luxury goods, but in true Singapore style, this shopping street runs beneath and above in endless layers of interconnected experiences and shops.  It’s nearly too much to fathom, architecturally.  We stopped at our favorite Japanese shopping mall, Takashimaya, across the street and picked up the missing pieces that Jane needed.

Jane had a dance class but we weren’t able to get the video.  The air drop would t work, sorry.

This morning was a huge day.  We first ate a big breakfast at an impressive buffet.

The buffet was just halls and rooms of food like this. Too much food.  Unlike Conrad catering to Chinese businessmen, Hilton was catering to Indian and European shoppers. There were a few Americans. They’re shamefully easy to spot, as they have deep sunburns and are wearing athletic clothes, with very few exceptions. Literally nobody else in Asia is wearing athletic clothes unless they’re carrying a tennis racket or obviously exercising, with very few or no exceptions.

But now is the big moment we have been building up to. We grabbed a ride to Jane’s new house. She was nervous but entirely stoic about it.  We pulled into a simply picture perfect adorable neighborhood. I had expected high rise apartment living but this was a 4-story house. Her host mom, Christine Ho, came out immediately and met us on the driveway.  She was immediately warm and relaxed, like an old pro. 

A grandmother to 3 children, Ms. Ho had the relaxed air of grandmotherly indulgence that immediately won me over. She and her husband raised their family in what is a large house for Singapore and even Texas. Having lived in the house for 38 years, her adult children moved away and her husband passed away 26 years ago. A positive and gentle woman, she immediately noted that she’s saving up for a renovation to start next year. Frankly, I really loved the lived in feel of the house. I could also understand why she might like to have company.  

There are 3 other girls from Jane’s school living in the house this summer, all leaving about the same time as Jane: a 15-year old girl from Thailand, a 17 year old girl from China, and a 18 year old girl who is Korean but raised in Russia (and knows Russian but not Korean). All are here learning English. Jane and the Thai student each have a private room, and the other 2 have a shared bedroom. This 3-story house has 3 bathrooms and a side/back yard. Ms Ho cooks their breakfast and dinner on weekdays and all meals on the weekends.  She has housekeepers that clean, and doesn’t expect chores around the house. She showed Jane how to do her laundry and we did a load right away. 

Jane’s room is just perfect for her. With a ton of built-in storage and a desk, we got her clothes hung up and put away within moments.  Despite its aging decor, there was a coziness about it that we both instantly loved. Ms. Ho immediately cranked the AC down low in her room, and it cooled off nicely. That said the AC wasn’t running in the rest of the house.  While there were mini-split units in the rooms, Ms Ho seemed comfortable without turning them on.  It certainly wasn’t hot, but it was humid.  The Russian student looked pretty dang hot, but the other two shrugged it off.  Jane’s Kickapoo training meant this was no big deal, in fact she thought it was an improvement.  Her room can be as cold as she likes it!

Ms. Ho decided that we should all go out to lunch as a special treat.  We met the other girls and piled into her minivan for a 4 minute drive to a mini mall with lots of restaurants.  She chose a very traditional Singaporean place for us, a chicken and rice restaurant.  Wow, it didn’t look like much but it was spectacular.  That chicken was incredibly tender and the mustard greens were delightful too.

We stopped at the grocery store, and I bought fruit and sweets for all of the kids.  They all picked our yogurts they liked, and we bought a massive crate of fancy strawberries as well.

After going back tot he house, we said goodbye without tears.  I feel entirely relaxed about leaving Jane with this “Auntie”.  Ms. Ho is ideal, and Jane is thrilled there are other kids in the house too.  It seems that Ms. Ho loves having more children to Grandmother and fill her big house with activity.  

An interesting note.  I asked Ms Ho about rules, and she looked a bit surprised by the question.  She said NOT to do dinner dishes, just let her handle dishes and cooking.  She said to make sure and clean up any hair over the shower drain so it doesn’t clog.  She said to flush the toilet every time to keep the bathroom fresh.  After that, she just has to comply with the curfew of 11pm set by the school, and call or text Ms Ho if she will be missing dinner.  That’s it!  

On a side note: in Singapore it’s illegal to leave a public restroom without flushing.  You can be fined for it!  Also, you can’t vote if you’re divorced or had a bankruptcy.  

More updates tomorrow.  Jane reported this evening that she finished all of her laundry and they played a game together at the kitchen table.  All is well.